


Little Giant

by bluesoldier



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-22
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2017-12-27 07:51:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/976291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluesoldier/pseuds/bluesoldier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jotunheim, land of cruel monsters, merciless, ugly creatures that should be exterminated; thats how the nine realms see them and the reason why they let the aesir nearly destroy them.<br/>Thor could never ignore the call of adventure and willing to prove himself a man, he and his friends go to the terrific lands of Jotunheim... and get lost. But what if what he finds in the frozen realm is not exactly what he had expected?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

He could hear the screams of battle outside, of destruction as his people fell under the unmerciful wrath of the Aesir. How could he be so foolish? To think that the aesir would see them as anything but monsters that deserved any harm that came on their way, and it had been, he swears, Midgard’s fault; they shouldn’t have entered his realm, even less steal sacred belongings from the palace. But it had, in the end, been too much to present battle to a realm so weak, even if they were so arrogant and selfish, and Jotunheim was paying the price now because of course the aesir would think them guilty and Midgard would play the dramatic part, thus sentencing his icy but warm home into fire and destruction.

He held the little toddler tighter to his chest when the door opened and two guards entered, along with his first born, still a child and too young for battle. The child, a small bumble in his arms, stirred a bit, but settled against his chest to continue traveling the realm of dreams. Laufey smiled down at him, his little giant, so innocent and peaceful even when the bloody war was surrounding them.  
Seeing as their king had no intentions to speak and time was running short, one of the soldiers stepped closer to their king, worry in his red eyes; young, Laufey noted, perhaps one of the jotuns of the near villages that have offered their loyalty to fight for their king.

“My Lord” and he knew, he knew he would have to do it now and he sighed, because there was no other way out of this.

“Dad?” he looked up to meet Helblindi’s gaze, a mix of fear an concern in his dark red eyes, the same shade as his; yet he felt proud of the bright red color of his little son’s eyes, much like his mother. He held his sons gaze a bit longer, trying to remember how that little face looked when he smiled, when he played carefree through the palace gardens that were being destroyed under pink skinned war gods; he tried to remember where he failed as a king, for it was the same moment he failed as a father, failed to bring peace to his people, failed to understand that no matter how justified their actions were, aesir would be aesir, monsters convinced that jotuns deserved to be smashed like this and then sleep at night without any guilt or regret over their actions.

“come here, son” and the little jotun did, his steps a bit hurried to be next to his father “dad…” he buried his face on his side, and Laufey couldn’t help but put an arm around him, bending carefully to not wake his son in his arms while he kissed the top of Helblindi’s head, covered in dark blueyish hair “dad, they’re in the castle” a sob escaped the younger’s lips, and Laufey could feel it against his skin, the hot tears a great contrast on his icy skin, the tears his son might have been holding for so long now running free “they’re inside dad…” Helblindi looked up and Laufey felt his heart break a little bit more, because he would never have dreamed, not even if his worst nightmares, to see his son filled with such desperation, such fear that was ill-suited in his still round face. He imagined his precious baby, his youngest, wearing the same expressions and his heart sank completely, breaking into a million pieces; no, he would never let his younger son feel like that.

For the first time since they entered the room, the king turned to the two warriors, obediently waiting orders and staying in silence through the king’s moment with his family. Probably, his lasts moments. 'No' he thought bitterly 'definitely, for I have made my decision. I only hope it works.'

“take prince Helblindi to safety once I teleport you to the sanctuary in the far mountains” the kid widened his eyes and glanced between the guards and his father, but there was nothing he could do; the form the king had adopted was that of a great ruler, a leader willing to sacrifice himself to take the blown for his people “father, no…” the king’s eyes softened when he looked down at his son again, but the determination in there was unmoving, and it only took a small shake of his head for Helblindi to understand, that this was it; there was no other way, and he hugged his father all the tighter for it. “your Majesty…” the soldier extended his arms to take his younger from his arms as the one who spoke earlier put a hand on Helblindi’s shoulders, speaking softly to him that they had to go now; the aesir were too near, they were able to heard their screams and roars now, demanding the kings head.

Laufey stared at the soldiers hands and then looked at him in the eyes. The young warrior understood that the king still did not wish to depart from his youngest, and gave him a tiny nod “we will depart as soon as the second prince is teleported to us” he promised and the smiled, such a rare thing to see these days, yet he didn’t want to be remembered with a frown on his face. He held up his free hand and waved it through the air, muttering runes older than him, older than Midgard itself. Helblindi, staring up at him with fresh tears spilling down his face, disappeared in a golden flash along with the two guards at his sides, and only then did the king slowly turn his eyes to his youngest son, walking from the middle of the room to where a wide crystal covered half of the room, casting a bright light that was Jotunheim’s lands on them, red spots covering the ground bellow where crystal gardens have been before. He turned his back on it and his little child stirred again, now resting his head in the space between his neck and shoulder, and the kind let his hand caress his soft dark curls, these completely dark unlike his brother’s, but he loved them equally, beautiful as night and soft as a zakur’s fur.

He ran his fingers through it, closing his eyes to taste the moment, live in it a little more, try to get as much a hold of his little frost giant’s memory as he could. Time passed, people screamed, in pain, in victory, in agony, and the king stood unmoving, waiting for his fate while the only thing that made him stay his ground with a strong demeanor rested peacefully with a small smile on his lips.

Steps approached, the unmistakable clash of metal, and it was a miracle that his little son had yet to wake from all the noise, it was all that the king could thing as he slowly opened his eyes. A second, a minute, and hour, it could have been an entire day before the door opened and Laufey would still think it happened too fast. He instinctively tightened his grip around his child without crushing the little miracle, his eyes now staring in the deep blue eyes of Odin. Aesir entered and blocked any attempt of escape, thought it would be useless, Laufey knew; he could just teleport himself with his little one a runaway, and the option was tempting, run with his sons and hopefully be able to resist the war from his brother’s kingdom; it was a nice dream yes, but dreams weren’t meant to turn real. Not now, not ever.

“you can stop this massacre, Laufey” Odin spoke, firm in his golden armor, yet the jotun king could recognize the disgust he felt towards him; Odin All-father might be called ‘fair’ and ‘merciful’, but those who said so had never been able to see right through him, what he really thought, his personal thoughts that he only reserved for himself, and maybe his wife; they had never seen how he had made Jotunheim be seen as the horrible land of scary, heartless monsters. And wasn’t it an irony, that the ‘fair ones’ where now the ones pointing his spears at the supposed monster, holding his toddler protectively to his chest? But words would be twisted, venom will be added, until the story of the battle against Jotunheim is no longer but a fairy tale that everyone would believe like little kids.

“Accept your fate and the war will be no more” lies, Laufey new. The soldiers would still stay a few more days until the food ran out to take all valuable that they could manage, take his people’s horns as trophy, destroy the homes they could manage, feast and ravish their children, for they were the only one weak and small enough for them to dominate. They could prevent them from using the frost bite mechanism of their body by hitting their heads hard with something, they had discovered. It made Laufey sick.

“will you come willingly to Asgard and be punished under the crimes you have committed?” he barely held a dark chuckled here; he would, he would go to Asgard and accept his punishment for making the greatest crime against his own people; hope an impossible dream. 

Something touched his lips then, and his gaze left Odin’s to look down at the brightest pair of red eyes he had even seen, staring up at him while the tiny chubby hand of his son patted his lips and chin, curiously unaware of the danger around him; the king closed his eyes and spoke, a firm but soft sound against his toddler’s little palm.

“Yes”

Everything went in slow motion from then on. The guards surged forward as Laufey muttered the same old runes again. The Aesir king frowned and lifted his spear; the child in his arms tensed and pain and confusion appeared in his eyes, almost as if he could understand, almost as if he knew what his father would do.

His last memory before Odin’s blast hit him was those of bright wide red eyes, staring at him as they disappeared in golden light.

“daddy!” and it hurt even more, the blast sent him against the crystal windows, forming a huge crack on them, as big as the one in his heart, which shattered completely at the sound of utter fear, desperation spoke in such an angelic voice. His body was numb, he felt the urge to scream and fight, to cry and disappear after his son, but duty tied him down. He had to be a good father, and a good king; he had to amend the wrong he had done.

A small smile graced his lips as the All-Father’s boots came into view, slowly fading into unconsciousness, knowing it would be the end of him, along with the war, and that his little giant would be safe.

Farewell, Loki.


	2. Leave out all the rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit slow, jotuns had only started to runaway after the king let himself to the hands of the aesir but I just had to pour all these feels and pieces of information in this chapter >

As soon as the golden flash revealed the youngest of Laufey’s children, everyone started moving. Loki was still reaching out for a father that wasn’t there anymore and started struggling and screaming madly when one of the guards who had accompanied Helblindi to the king’s chambers took him from the altar in the middle of the sacred room, now used as a teletransportation station for those who were lucky enough to reach a mage or an apprentice in his lasts years of training. 

Barking orders, the general, most trusted warrior of Laufey, quickly directed the confused masses, setting children and pregnant jotuns as his priority to put to safety. The exit on these sanctuaries was hard to find, a mechanism the jotuns had designed long ago to prevent animals or foreigners to ever defile their sacred chambers. The tunnels were designed as traps too. Only those who had the ability to tame ice were able to pass, see through crystals and sense the traps beneath them. It was almost like a dance that everyone learned through their life, moving in coordination even now, when the panic was so clear and fear clouded most of their minds. Even then, a jotun would always be able to hear the call of the ice and follow it.

Everyone could hear the echo of Loki’s cries thought, the agony the heart of their little prince was in, not understanding why or where his father had gone, why he was not there with them traveling wherever they were going. Not even when he was handed to his older brother did the toddler stop crying, calling for his father all the while.

And it hurt even more, because no one could explain to a kid of such a young age what war and sacrifice meant, how his father was a hero for his people, but the pain, the pain he understood, just as the farmers, magicians, healers, teens, elders around him understood his pain, the pain of feeling a important connection to their heart being ripped in the most violent way possible, not being able to find comfort in such difficult time.

But what would Jotunheim become if they only focused on their bleeding hearts? Somehow they had to hope, somehow they had to fight, and as the general led the mass of jotuns out of the sanctuary and stayed behind to make sure no one was left inside, he thought that the young prince’s cries of pain and the eldest’s silent tears should be enough motivation for them to make sure none of this happened twice.  
The sanctuary was placed in the outskirts of Thrym’s lands, which governed a small part of the realm as it was Laufey’s wish to give his little brother some power. Thrym was grateful for it, and did a wonderful work of ruling his own lands next to his older brother. That’s why he had prepared his army once the word of war reached his ears. Thrym’s part of the realm might be small but his army of fierce warriors was one to fear, heard of in all the nine realms. Not once his warriors had lost in a battle and if they hadn’t been able to send them to fight along Laufey’s army, it was because the Aesir, even in the frosty homeland, had brought mages who tamed the fire, created high walls of flames impossible to trespass. The black stained ground still held the memory of the insufferable heat they had to stand because of the pink-skinned warriors.

The people rushed to the gates, the general following close behind them, making sure again that no one had been abandoned before he turned to walk in the safety of Thrym’s walls. The gates were closed, defense traps and mechanisms activated, warriors positioned with all their senses tensed, searching for any attack, any suspicious movements, blood red eyes scanning the snow that even an Aesir could not hope to squint in between the mist that covered them. No danger was detected for a long time, and the newcomers used this moment of peace to reorganize and put weaker ones to safety. Jotunheim had always been beautiful for those who had the time to appreciate and if the Aesir would do so they would discover that under the snow and the ice, giant caves that their ancestors had crafted shielded the jotuns from the most violent of the storms or enemies. The general guided his people there, where those who couldn’t fight were already praying for this massacre to end.

Helblindi was the first to walk to one of the corners, where furs and alike had been fashioned as beds and chairs for families and young to rest. Helblindi sat on a zakur’s white fur, soft beneath him, yet the prince couldn’t bring himself to appreciate it as he held his still weeping little brother to his chest. A jotun with short silver hair was next to them, gently stroking his rounded belly and breathing in and out rhythmically. Here, in times of war, there were no privileges, no special positions or priority for those noblemen or even the princes; in times of war, everyone was just people. Jotuns. The jotun next to them smiled at Helblindi.

“it’s good to see that the princes are safe” he said softly, making Loki look up from Helblindi’s chest, tears still spilling from his bright red eyes “my name is Alaberg” he introduced himself and Helblindi nodded “I’m Helblindi” the young one said, making Alaberg chuckle “I know, everyone here knows our eldest and youngest prince’s names” he smiled at them and reached out to run his fingers soothingly through Loki’s hair, who hid in Helblindi’s chest again. It reminded him of when his father did that, but it didn’t feel the same.

“are you hungry?” Both Alaberg and Helblindi looked up to the general, who was handing out some food along with some soldiers, making sure everyone had their ration. Alaberg accepted to frozen pieces of meat that were offered to him, having to eat for the well-being of his child even if he himself didn’t feel hungry “you should eat something too” the general offered to Helblindi and Loki the same amount, creating a bowl of ice so the kid wouldn’t have to put it on the floor or the furs. Helblindi accepted the bowl and took a small piece, showing it to Loki who gave it a tentative sniff before licking it. Alaberg smiled while chewing his own piece of food, watching the two young brothers share the bowl, Helblindi feeding Loki small pieces and even chewing them a bit when they proved to be too hard to chew for Loki’s little teeth, still too small to break through the frozen surface.

Hours passed, soldiers left and came, making rounds to make sure the ones above rested too and had their own ration of food. Pregnant jotuns were usually asleep, so it wasn’t a surprise when Alaberg carefully lay down on his side, smiling at the boys and telling them he would sleep for a little. Helblindi offered him one of the furs under them to use as pillow, and the jotun smiled at him, grateful for the offering. Helblindi watched him as he slept, his rounded belly, who Alaberg had a protective arm wrapped around. It reminded him of when his mother was expecting his brother when he was a bit older than Loki now, his face as he stared at his belly lovingly, caressing it gently and telling his son about all the charms of their realm, the beautiful places he would see when he came out, the many games he would play, the things he would teach him, and Helblindi listened, listened to him talking to his soon brother in the nest of furs the king himself had made for his mate. None of them expected what had happened three months later.

 

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Helblindi was playing with one of his cousins when they heard it; his ama’s scream. When he went out of his room, palace servants and guards were already headed that way, midwifes carrying towels too, knowing this was the call of life the kings had been waiting for. Helblindi was of course left out of it, waiting outside of his parent’s chambers, feeling anxious and eager, worried and excited, was his ama alright? What would his new brother look like? A young servant talked with him, about his younger brother, how happy he had been when he was born and held him in his arms. Helblindi wondered if he too would be allowed to hold his brother or if his father would think him too small to do so.

Another cry sounded, much more small and high pitched, and Helblindi’s attention along with all the other servants turned to the closed door. Some were shouting, but he couldn’t make out the words and his worry and excitement grew to the point that he was almost bouncing, biting his lip until the servant next to him called him out of it, saying he would pierce himself if he bit down that hard. But how could he hold his excitement, when the doors finally opened? It was like someone had opened a window and the light was illuminating everything, and when he entered… His ama looked so happy, so exhausted and happy, his daddy by his side, helping him to stay in a sitting position while they handed him a small bumble wrapped in unxi’s fur, which were clean white and more soft and fluffy than a zakur’s, which could be a variation of white to black to grey, or a combination of them. Father’s eyes were wide in shock, but Helblindi guessed it was a good kind of shock, because ama was smiling. Then he looked up and smiled at him, and Helblindi knew he could come nearer now, eyes wide with curiosity as he climbed to the fur covered bed, crawling to his ama’s side to see a tiny, really tiny baby.

Helblindi looked up at his ama and he smiled again, caressing with a finger the little baby’s cheek, who had stopped crying and was now apparently sleeping. Helblindi turned his gaze to his father, whose eyes had softened and a smile was starting to appear in the corner of his lips, and Helblindi turned his curious eyes to his baby brother once again. As in clue the baby opened his eyes slowly, revealing crimson red eyes that shone under the light. Helblindi’s eyes widened at the sight, his mouth hanging open “he has lighter eyes than you ama!” he turned to exclaim excitedly to him, making him let out a tiny chuckle “yes, such beautiful eyes…” he sighed content, making the small baby look at him and make small gurgling noises that Helblindi sensed, melted completely his parents heart “but why is he so tiny? Was I small like him too? When will he grow up?” he couldn’t help but ask and Laufey smiled, shaking his head “no Helblindi, you were a bit bigger; your brother here… is special” Helblindi listened to his father with all the attention a child his age could gather “but when will he grow up?” he asked eagerly and turned to his ama, trying to see if he had any answers to his question “he will with time, like you” he said poking his nose, making the younger smile “you too are growing up, and someday you will be as big as us” he smiled proudly and Helblindi’s eyes shone with renewed excitement “even bigger?” he asked eagerly and bounced happily when his ama nodded. All this excitement made the small baby gurgle and whine for attention, so his ama turned down to gently hush him, placing a small kiss on his forehead.

“he is a mirari, Helblindi” Laufey smiled at his boy and the young one looked at him with a smile “don’t forget that” the little one nodded and turned to look at his brother. He didn’t exactly understand what mirari meant, but he knew his brother was special, and so he would make sure he grew up happy and healthy.

“daddy… ama…” Helblindi said, his face turning serious. Both parents turned to him, curious, even the baby stopped his noises to turn bright red eyes at him “when will I be able to play with him?” he asked with such concerned look that Laufey and Farbauti couldn’t hold themselves and started laughing, the noises making the baby squeak happily while the now big brother stared at them in clear confusion.

 

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Jotun pregnancies were quite different from Aesir or any for that matter; they lived to survive after all. A jotun pregnancy lasts about 3-5 months and an average future-ama can tell if he is pregnant a week or even days after the fetus is created and starts to develop, though the signs are quite clear for other jotuns to guess too; first of all the instincts change, the future-ama becoming more protective and selfish over himself and putting food as a priority, which creates some disturbs until the cause is found. The bed is an important place too, some of the expecting amas make a nest of soft furs, usually unxi fur, and sleep there instead of in their bed with their mates; some of them won’t even let their mates in their nest until the baby is born and the nest is taken down, but almost every pregnant jotun craves soft touches and nuzzles from their mates; basically, a bit of fluff. It also makes them aroused and crave sex as much as soft touches, like a three months long heat, but their mates must be careful not to give the wrong attentions at the wrong time or it will stress the future-ama. It also was evident that a jotun was pregnant not because of their rounded belly, which started to swell rapidly in less than a month, it was because their stomach area also became hard to the touch, rock hard; because jotuns are a species meant wholly to survive, their bellies hardened during pregnancy to protect the baby as if the fetus was inside an egg inside their mother, which causes the bellies to round up more and even make the markings in this area disappear. It wasn’t very usual to happen unless twins were in their way, and jotuns have been known to be able to give birth to three babies at the same time, though some didn’t make it through their first day, which was a great loss to the families. If the ama lost their first baby and had no more to focus their attentions on, their body went numb from the lack of a little creature to feed and love and this was probably the most vulnerable state a jotun could enter because they didn’t even notice if they were hungry or tired. Nothing. Jotuns had to be very careful if their mate entered this state. They had to make sure their bodies were taken care of and their loving caresses were given, often going as far as to even drink the milk that was meant for the lost baby from their breasts, which would turn from flat to swollen and full of milk a month before the baby was born.

Most of this Helblindi had learned while his ama was pregnant with Loki, and he remembered when he asked what Farbauti’s milk was like to his father, he said it was warm and sweet. He said Helblindi had tasted it too, but he was too small to remember. However his father refused to answer Helblindi’s question as to how did he know what Farbauti’s milk was like.

But as he said, no one expected what happened after Loki was born. Everything about his brother had been odd from the beginning, and his father had explained that was because he was a mirari. His ama had suffered from pains inside his body, which almost never happened in a normal pregnancy, not at least inside the ‘egg’. Farbauti’s markings had not disappeared, but instead shone brighter and she was hungry and tired all the time, worryingly so. 92 days later Farbauti was in labor, and the mid-wives had absolutely no clue what they would find after such odd events, there was the possibility of the baby turning out to be a mirari, but there was also the higher possibility of Loki turning out to be abnormal, deformed, or even be born still. It turned out Loki was, indeed, a mirari, which Helblindi was confused about; he had never asked about miraries but he felt curious then. His ama was actually the one to satiate his curiosity and explain that a mirari were those jotun who were gifted with a strong connection with the natura, which also gave them a natural control over magic and if the natura chose so, the gift of Sight; the gift of being able to see the past, present and future in the form of dreams. Helblindi had felt more excited by the moment, and asked what else miraries could do and why were there not more of them. Farbauti had calmly explained that only those with the purest of hearts in natura’s eyes could be born a mirari for only those could be open minded enough to see beyond cultures, races and traditions; only they could see the heart into every soul without selfish thoughts. But, Farbauti had warned, because of this amount of awareness, miraries were very easy to hurt and become twisted, turning dark what once was pure. He also warned him that Loki would often look a bit advanced for his age due to this awareness, would often think too much about everything or get the wrong conclusions and hurt himself not physically, but in a more harmful way and that Helblindi had to make sure won’t happen. As his older brother, Helblindi had to protect Loki, even from Loki himself.

Helblindi understood why there were so few miraries then; even jotuns were too focused on hatred for the aesir and the nine realms to be pure-hearted, but it still surprised him that he had never seen a mirari before. When he voiced his thoughts his ama chuckled and told him there was another living mirari, actually, and when Helblindi insisted in who this other mirari was, Farbauti confessed it was a far cousin of his that lived in the castle as a noble. Every mirari had something odd in their appearance that instantly gave them away, and when they were born you instantly knew if the child was a mirari, so following the oddity miraries were often given special and very odd names among the jotun. This is how Helblindi discovered that even if the name ‘Loki’ sounded jotun-ish, it did have a meaning all the same. ‘Loki’ meant ‘head’, which was translated as ‘wit’ or ‘reason’. The name of the other mirari was Eki, which meant sun, and his eyes were not a blood red or even dark red as it was usual between jotuns. Farbauti described them as a shade of dark pink he had never seen before, so beautiful and bright that poor Eki had to bat away potential mates at every turn. Helblindi didn’t understand why exactly he had to bat others away since everyone wished more or less to have a mate, but didn’t question it. His ama also said that he had a lighter shade of blue skin, like Loki’s, and their markings stood out more too. When Helblindi asked if the size of Loki had anything to do with being a mirari, Farbauti nodded and said that maybe that was his special trait like Eki’s pink eyes.

He remembered all of this as he stared at sleeping Alaberg, his arms still wrapped around his belly, and Helblindi guessed he was in his second month of pregnancy, but the odd thing was that he couldn’t see his mate anywhere; maybe he was one of the soldiers who were keeping an eye out for any attacks? Or maybe he is…

Helblindi turned his gaze and focused on the now sleeping Loki, cutting off his thoughts. He didn’t want to think about war anymore. He sighed and stared at his brother, who upon a closer look he realized he was not sleeping, his eyes were just half lifted, staring at nothing, unfocused. Helblindi tightened his hold on him, pressing Loki closer to his chest, which seemed to wake the toddler out of his haze and squirm, trying to struggle free of his older brother’s hold. He stopped when Helblindi’s body started shaking with sobs, and instead started whining because he couldn’t help but feel sad when his older brother cried.  
“Bidi” Loki whined again at the verge of tears himself and Helblindi moved back to look at him, forced smile on his lips clashing too much with the tears running down his eyes “Bidi” Loki whined again, louder, a few tears starting to fall from the baby blue cheeks.

“hush Loki, it’s okay” the eldest said, whipping the tears away “you’ll wake up Alaberg, and he needs resting after… after all that is happening” his voice trembled and Helblindi could tell Loki noticed because tears started to roll down from his eyes again accompanied by a soft whining noise.

He sighed and wiped the tears away once again “don’t feel sad” he said quietly to the younger, who’s lower lip still trembled with teary eyes “I can be sad but I won’t allow you to be too” the eldest said, softly caressing Loki’s back and coaxing him to lay against his chest “I will protect you from the pain” he whispered now that the toddler was resting against him, eyes fully closed but still full of unshed tears. Helblindi caressed his back a bit more and before darkness enveloped him he wondered if Eki was still alive or Loki was the only mirari left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here's the next chapter! a bit longer as I promised ^^ all my love for my amazing beta-reader because she is amazing and I make a lot of errors :'3 thankyou babu!! I also made some fanart of the zakursand unxis so you get an idea of what they look like here -->mangaka-soldier.tumblr.com/post/62503567799/these-are-fanarts-of-my-own-fanfic-little-giant-to
> 
> Jotun glossary:
> 
> zakur: jotun dog  
> unxi:jotun rabbit  
> mirari: literally translated it means miracle  
> Eki: sun  
> ama: bearer, mother
> 
>  
> 
> if I missed any foreign words or you don't understand something feel free to contact me! :D


	3. Hands held high

The weeks that followed weren’t much better. There were no attacks to Thrym’s lands but jotuns weren’t as hopeful to think that the ones who had remained at Laufey’s kingdom would be so lucky. It was only six weeks later that Thrym sent a group of jotun to explore and bring news, and Helblindi wondered why he had decided to do that now or why he hadn’t sent his army to fight the remaining aesir “because that would be like saying the war hasn’t ended; if we attack now the aesir will believe we still want the war to go on” Alaberg had explained to him. He was comfortably resting on a small nest of furs he had made when they moved to the surface after a month being underground. The newcomers have been put in the healing rooms, houses with chambers almost as big as the castle with a large amount of beds and supplies that could attend and take care of around 5000 jotuns, which was a seventh part of Jotunheim’s total population; when they moved in, Helblindi realized with great alarm that the jotuns that had survived didn’t even reach to fill half of it. 

“But why send them now?” he asked, Loki curled next to him. The toddler had been almost completely silent since they came here, which was shocking due to how much his younger sibling used to talk (or at least try to) and demand attention.

“Because” Alaberg smiled sadly at him “the king can’t send his men to his own death. The first weeks after The Fall is where aesir must have taken everything that catches their interest, including slaves” Helblindi gulped, he haven’t thought about that. That aesir would steal sacred relics he knew, that they would probably kill any jotun they found he knew… he didn’t thought they would actually want to take them as slaves “is a way to mock our kind and show how superior they are, which is kind of ridiculous since they can’t even reach our eye-level” Alaberg huffed and Helblindi tried to imagine and aesir laughing at someone that was at least twice his size “anyway, if they are lucky they will be killed when the aesir grow tired of them; the worst that can happen to you once you’re taken as a slave is living in Asgard forever” Helblindi turned at him, question clear in his eyes and Alaberg huffed a laugh “you don’t know what happens if you live in the realm of sun?” he asked and Helblindi shook his head, completely lost; he thought the worst thing about being with aesir was that he would be mocked and humiliated daily, and when he voiced his thoughts Alaberg shook his head “that too, but after a while your body… changes. We are creatures of ice my prince, we can’t live in the sun forever just as the children of the sun can’t live in the realm of ice forever” Helblindi nodded, because that made sense, but he was still confused about it; Alaberg said his body would change, but how so? 

“Alaberg-“he started asking, but was interrupted by a round of soldiers that came to give them their meal. This time it was frozen meat of bei, a rather small amount than before “this is everything we can give you”, my prince” the soldier said apologetically but Helblindi shook his head “its alright, I understand” Alaberg pursed his lips though when he was given the same amount thought, and took the soldier’s wrist “please, I need more than this” his hand caressed his already large belly and Helblindi understood why, but the soldier sighed and shook his head “I can’t give you more; if I do I will have to leave someone without his meal” Helblindi felt bad for Alaberg, he was in his last weeks before giving birth after all, he needed the food.

Alaberg’s grip tightened and his eyes turned a menacing red “you can’t give me just this! I need to feed my child” he argued and the warrior put his free hand on his shoulder, dismissing his companion that continued to share the food he carried “I understand and I’m sorry but we can’t, I can give you some pieces of my own meal but I can’t give you much either” this seemed to somehow calm Alaberg but he was still pursing his lips. Helblindi felt the urge to interfere, they were kids after all, they didn’t need to eat as much “I will give you some of mine too” he offered; each jotun had four pieces of bei meat, each one the size of an aesir’s hand. The four pieces filled Helblindi’s both hands, and he gave Alaberg one, the soldier giving him another one. Alaberg seemed satisfied with the six pieces, even if they weren’t as much as what he really needed now “we will try to re-grow what had been destroyed, but it will take time” the soldier said and Helblindi smiled up at him “thank you for your hard work” Alaberg’s was shocked now, staring openly at Helblindi then turned to the warrior, who was smiling warmly at the prince. He opened his palm and ice started forming, creating complicate patterns until an eight-legged horse was formed “this is the legendary horse of Odin All-father, Sleipnir” Helblindi’s eyes widened, reaching for the ice figure. The warrior happily handed it to him, and it even seemed to pick Loki’s interest, who sat up and stared at the little horse in Helblindi’s hand “his name means slippery or so I have heard, and it’s the fastest creature in all the ni9ne realms” the soldier smiled and Alaberg bit down on a piece of bei, watching the boys gap at the stories and the little ice figure.

That night, soldiers came once again to feed them, and like earlier, Helblindi and the kind soldier gave one of their pieces to Alaberg, who thanked them for it as he caressed his swollen belly. Helblindi made Loki eat two of the pieces and he ate the remaining one. Days went on and on like that, jotuns tending to those who had severe injuries, some of the body, some of the mind. Alaberg said that witnessing the dead of your loved ones often traumatized jotun, leaving them in a state of shock permanently or rocking back and forth; Helblindi asked the reason of why they would rock themselves like that, and Alaberg, always the patient when it came to Helblindi’s curiosity, told him that a way to try and comfort themselves by imitating the rocking motion of a mother. Helblindi thought of his ama, of how calm and safe he felt in his arms and how Loki would almost instantly calm and fall asleep when he did the same to him, and it made sense to him. Everything was peaceful for the most part.

Until three days later Helblindi woke up to Alaberg crying out in pain.

Healers rushed to him and Helblindi could only stare in shock as he covered Loki’s ears, who was wide awake, and silently crying as he too stared, occasionally half hiding his face on Helblindi’s chest. There was no room or time to move Alaberg now, he was ready to give birth in any moment now and the healers did his best to accommodate everything for the birth, managing to hide him in between curtains, so Helblindi and the others could only see shadows now.

Alaberg kept crying out and screaming, midwifes rushing, healers going from one side to the other. Helblindi didn’t understand, a birth wasn’t supposed to hurt that much, his father had said, the birth of a jotun was something to be feasted and so, it was very unusual for it to cause pain. The ‘egg’ where the baby was softened in mere moments and by the time of birth a jotun’s waist had become wider, ready for the baby that was to come.

There was another cry of pain and then silence. Helblindi bit his lip, now able to hear his little brother’s sobs, but his eyes were still focused in the shadows that moved from one side to the other, hissing orders and attending both the ama and the baby, but he couldn’t hear any cries, he couldn’t hear any whines or whimpers or panting or nothing. A silence that turned even more deafening when the mid wives and healers stilled their movements. Helblindi held his breath, letting out a breathy sigh when the shadows started moving again, this time slower. They seemed to put a sheet on Alaberg, he must be exhausted now, he must be asleep now, that’s why they put a blanket on him. The baby must be exhausted too, it had to be that, Helblindi repeated himself, it had to be. They took off the curtains and Helblindi could see them cleaning around Alaberg, who was completely covered by the sheet ‘so the light won’t wake him up’ Helblindi told himself. Jotuns around were staring, some of them with horrified expressions, most of them crying silently.

A healer stopped by and only then Helblindi realized he was crying too. He tightened his grip on Loki who at the same time pressed the little eight legged horse to his chest; two of the legs were broken now. The healer kept whispered reassuring words to them, comforting them as best as he could and Helblindi couldn’t lie to himself anymore, but he couldn’t take the heavy truth either. He didn’t want to believe.

That night nobody nearly slept, and when the morning came and the soldiers brought their food all the pregnant jotun were given eight pieces instead of four.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

After two years since Alaberg’s dead, the princes and the other jotuns that came along with them from Laufey’s fallen kingdom were finally able to go back home, or what was left of it. They weren’t going there to stay, but to rebuild what the war had destroyed, but Helblindi asked to go along with them anyway. Loki had slowly started to talk again, much to Helblindi’s relief, since he believed after the shock of hearing Alaberg dying would make Loki not want him to talk anymore, would turn him a mutu. Even then he had still hesitated when the younger asked to be brought home to, but in the end, who could possibly deny the youngest prince?

So here they were now, Helblindi holding tightly on Loki’s hand, who had to stretch a bit to reach it even if the eldest bent his back a little.

The rebuilding went as planned, buildings that were too damaged being brought down, mages and farmers alike calling the ice and creating solid walls, removing any traces of blood or cracks; the bodies had been removed by the soldiers and mourned for those first few months after The Fall.

Helblindi watched as Eki walked calmly through the working jotuns, briefly stopping and helping some of them before once again taking his own path. Helblindi watched him from above, and suddenly the mirari turned his eyes to him; his ama was right, they were of a pink color he had never seen before. His eyes shifted a bit and Helblindi knew he was staring at Loki, and when he looked down Loki he saw the smaller was watching him. Loki, that was now around 4 years old by midgardian terms, had still not showed any indications that he could possess the gift of Sight like every mirari before him, but then again Helblindi wouldn’t press him for it; who could relax enough in these times to fully connect with the natura and see beyond the worlds, to the past, the present, and the future?

The little hand of his brother leaving his was what woke Helblindi from his daydream and realized with a start that the youngest had started walking towards Eki, as if attracted by him, and Helblindi was going to go after him but, something told him not to. He just felt he had to wait there for his brother, give the little one a moment with the other mirari, and so he waited, watching as the mirari kneeled in front of Loki and gave a little bow to the prince with a smile, and even if Helblindi couldn’t see it he knew his brother was smiling too. Not for the first time, but certainly it had been a challenge to make Loki smile these two years.  
Eki put his hand on top of Loki’s head, a gesture that parents did to their children when they had done something worth feasting for, a sign to let them know they were proud. Ha Loki done something for Eki to feel proud of him? Was it something to do with the natura, something beyond Helblindi’s comprehension? He wondered, but knew he would have to wait until Loki returned to ask. Said prince stayed with Eki a few moments more before turning and rushing to Helblindi, a smile on his lips.

“Bidi!” and ‘Bidi’ smiled, unable not to when he saw his little brother so happy.

“What is it?” he asked, reaching for Loki once he was near enough and taking him in his arms. Unable to contain his curiosity he bit his lip “what did he tell you?” he added, glancing at the mirari that was watching them.

“He said I have a lot of ponential” the little prince said and Helblindi chuckled “’potential’” he corrected the younger.

“yes yes, potential” the youngest said, making Helblindi laugh again “He wants to be my master, brother” Loki smiled up and Helblindi froze.

“Master… as in to teach you about the natura?” he asked, a bit taken aback; no mirari had, well, been the master of another mirari. Loki nodded eagerly and looked at his brother, eyes shinning.

“he also said that in my next name day, he will take me somewhere special”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for taking a bit longer than last time ^^' this chapter is not betaed so any errors are mine, which I will correct asap so feel free to point them out. Let me know if I forgot to translate any jotun words or if you don't understand something and I will gladly explain :3 please review! I love your lovely comments!
> 
> Jotun glossary:
> 
> zakur: jotun dog  
> unxi:jotun rabbit  
> mirari: literally translated it means miracle  
> Eki: sun  
> ama: bearer, mother  
> mutu:mute


	4. the requiem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> getting nearer to the moment where Thor and Loki meet~

_Name days, also known as birthdays. Mortals celebrated them every year, but they couldn’t be blamed, given how short their lives were, the lives Odin had condemned them to life, always fearing death, so fragile, so weak, so close minded…  Laufey had never let any of his kind go there without a good reason. Humans were cruel, tricky and selfish; he always repeated this to his sons, even if Loki was too small to understand fully what he meant and giggled when their father poked his little nose. The only thing he knew was that if he did whatever daddy was saying, he would be mad._

_Even without the coming in contact with the midgardians, jotuns knew their ways, their wars and disagreements in matters of religions; as if there was any other religion to follow. Only the Vikings were the ones to realize the truth, but they were too similar to the aesir to the jotuns liking; they preferred the Celtic people, those who lived mostly in the deep forests of Spain, who were more similar to the light elves. The king felt there was a bit of hope for the human kind if only they followed these people, for even when the Celtic came across the Ivory, which favored the dark elves, they didn’t start a war. Surprisingly none of them wanted to, and lived together, even mixing their races, calling them Celtivory. Long hair, black, almost white blonde and now light and dark shades of blondes, browns and red, these kind of mortals were the very example that human kind was not lost and that someday, they could even reach immortality. For now, their connection with the natura was strong enough to allow them magic, which they used for daily use like cooking, hunting and small rituals. Since miraries where the only ones who could see then, the four miraries that were alive at the time informed the king of this, and each passing decade he became more and more soft about the idea of letting some of his race go to midgard in a peaceful manner. When the Celtic, Ivory and Celtivory people could live twice the average mortal, aka 80 years, Laufey finally allowed one jotun to visit them, concretely a mirari named Negu, which meant winter. His hair was long and silver, his eyes red like the asgardian jewels, his body small, like Loki’s, and full of soft curves, to the point that he looked like what other realms would call a woman; it wasn’t unusual for jotuns to look more bulky or soft, even for those of normal stature._

_Negu was the chosen one to descent to the middle realm, doing so in their coldest time, honoring his very name. The Celtivory people took his visit as a good omen and worshipped him, but they stopped when Negu asked them to; he was here to teach, not to be adored like a god. Teach he did, and soon the men and women were able to call the ice, strengthen their connection with the natura and come to understand it better. Winter was almost over, but Negu promised to come again the next year, and so the Celtivory gifted him their own symbols, lucky charms, jewels and clothes that they have done for him._

_Laufey was very satisfied with the results and allowed Negu to return the next year, and the next, and the next… until seven years had passed and Negu had already taught them enough about the jotuns that the Celtivory were curious to see a normal sized mirari. Negu promised to come the next year with one of the other three miraries if the king allowed it, and when he returned at the end of the season he did so with a handful of books and clothes that the mirari had taken a liking to, but was the only one able to wear it since they couldn’t fit the other jotuns._

_Laufey did not like the idea of letting another mirari go to midgard, he already considered it a risk for one to go, not because of the Celtivory people, but because the other mortals could discover them as they had now started to conquer more and more lands unexplored until then. But in the end, Negu melted the king’s determination and convinced him to bring another mirari called Naia with him, which meant wish._

_And so, the next year Naia and Negu were off to midgard once again to visit the Celtivory, loyal people to the natura that even if they were somehow intimidated by Naia’s size, they trusted Negu and quickly befriended him. With Negu’s and Naia’s help, the Celtivory’s leader wrote a book called ‘Wish for Winter’ in their honor; the book contained every lesson the miraries had taught them, about the magic, about the natura, the jotun and true religion of the nine realms, though it mostly centered in the first two. This book was passed down to the next generation and the younglings clearly progressed, even more gifted than those before them, but the book didn’t reach the next generation._

_War and devastation was upon them one spring after Naia and Negu returned to Jotunheim; it was the invasion of those who were searching for power, killing and conquering wherever they went. Jotunheim mourned the loss of the Celtivory people and held a feast in their honor, using their very same customs in such times. The aesir thought the jotun were mocking the human race with this, but Laufey couldn’t care less; mortals had something that inevitably made you love them, made you want to teach them about the truth, as if midgard were the youngest brother of the nine who had to be taken care of and taught. If only all the population of midgard had been as the Celtivory where, so hungry for knowledge, so thirsty for wisdom about the natura, accepting the magic in them, for the loss of such a great race Jotunheim mourned for a whole jotun year, which was 57 mortal years._

“Does that mean that when a year passes here in Midgard had already passed 57?” Loki interrupted Eki. The Mirari smiled at his young student and shook his head .

“no, of course not. Time passes the same in all the nine realms. But the changes Midgard suffers in a year, Jotunheim makes it in 57 years, thats why we call then jotun years. Let’s say, in 57 years you will be 5, right?” Loki nodded, his eyes focused only in his master “well, for a mortal child that is 5 years old, in 57 years he would be 62 years old” Loki tilted his head, a bit confused as to what his master meant. Eki chuckled “he would be as old as a 3534 year old jotun”

Loki gasped “so old after only a jotun year?!” he asked stunned and Eki nodded “for us, a mortal year equals to 57 years, AKA a jotun year. Do you understand now?” Loki nodded, staring down at his hands as he thought; he hadn’t understood his master’s words very well in the beginning, he didn’t understand why mortals were so desperate for life, for achieving something in so little time, why they were so afraid of death… but now Loki understood; how would he feel himself if in less than a year half of his lifetime had slipped by? He would try to do something to be remembered, maybe even find something to be able live some more…

“My dear Loki” Eki spoke, bringing him back from his memories “remember the book I mentioned? The one the leader of the Celtivory wrote?” the little one nodded; ‘Wish for Winter’ was named, he remembered, in honor to the two miraries than went down to Midgard

“that book posses magic in itself. It was written by someone who understood everything he was writing, by someone that even if not a fully developed connection, was in contact with the natura” Eki explained

“what happened to the book?” Loki asked; he really hoped it was not lost or destroyed, he wanted to read it, to see what lessons awaited him.

“it was found by the aesir when Odin went down to heart to settle the war that threatened to destroy the whole of midgard; the very same war that wiped the Celtivory from existence” Loki’s eyes widened. He still couldn’t imagine such a great war where the whole realm could be in danger, not at least a war between the same race. Such a big threat that Odin himself had to stop it.

“did they take it?” Loki asked quietly. He had heard so much about aesir, all bad things, most lies he knew… he had to be open minded though; aesir attacked them thinking they were monsters, but they weren’t, so maybe aesir were the same? Even though jotuns saw them as monsters maybe, just maybe there someone in Asgard, anyone that would wonder if there wasn’t any jotun that wasn’t a monster.

“they did” Eki sighed “they kept it from us and won’t return it, even thought they can’t understand the language; only the All-father knows it, and the jotuns, but Asgard still keeps it from us because they know how much it means to us” Eki placed his hands on Loki’s tiny shoulders, his bright pink eyes staring directly at Loki’s bright red ones “listen Loki; that book is very important for you to understand the natura, your magic and most importantly, yourself. We can’t steal the book for it will bring even more harm to our beloved land, but you must still read it” Loki nodded, determined. A question rose in his mind but before he could voice it Eki smiled at him “I will teach you the language of the Celtivory and their letters, just as my master Negu taught me” Loki nodded, but still there was another question that he couldn’t find an answer for, no matter how much he tried to find one.

“master Eki…” Loki called in a whisper and the white haired one hummed, asking him to go on “you said there were four miraries and that your master was Negu himself” Eki nodded again and Loki bit his lip for a moment before continuing.

“what happened to them?”

 There was a long pause after that and when Loki looked up, Eki had his eyes closed, a calm expression adorning his features

“the nature called them, Loki. You can’t ignore her call, once you hear it” the older mirari said softly, stroking Loki’s cheek with a finger “someday, I will hear it too, just as one day you will” he said with a smile “but for now, lets start with the Celtivory language; we have a jotun year before you turn five, and I did promise you that I would take you somewhere special when that happened, right?” Loki smiled and nodded eagerly

“are you taking me to Asgard?” he asked curius, though he was sure his master would take him there; it must be Asgard. Eki just smiled at him and rose from where he had been sitting, stretching a bit after sitting for so long.

Loki took that as a clue that his question wouldn’t be answered, but he knew it would be Asgard. He too stood up and stretched, hearing his spine cracking a bit; it was only normal, they had been sitting here in the middle of the forest, the biggest one in Jotunheim which they called Basoa, ice flowers and giant black and blue trees surrounding them with their white, needle shaped leafs; it had somehow survived the war, at least a big part of it, but the natura, along with the power of the casket, made sure to rebuild her realm to all her glory, even if it took time.

********************************************************

57 mortal years later, Loki turned five. At a young age, Eki had already realized how hungry the child was for knowledge, how he seemed to devour every book the older gave him, his endless curiosity. It reminded him of the Celtivory people and their equal eagerness to learn.

In the jotun year Loki spent learning, he had already showed some signs of his magic. Helblindi swore the furs they lay on never got cold, not even when they returned to the chambers Thrym had offered the princes after a long day of hard work for the eldest and learning for the youngest; their furs were always warm, their nights nightmareless. The eldest believed this to be Loki’s magic, but the younger didn’t seem to notice this so Helblindi knew this was done unconsciously. Even then, it was a good start; they had feared the war would have left Loki too scarred in his young years of life to see past the pain and reach to the natura, but the time he spent with Eki seemed to help him a lot through these difficult times.

Once, Helblindi had wanted to thank him, though he wasn’t sure what the other would like to have; what did 26-years-old miraries have interest in? he had just turned 13, he couldn’t find something that someone twice his age would like. So instead, he decided to stick for something basic.

One day that Loki was studying in their room (he would often do that, lock himself all day, studying the Celtivory language, sometimes explaining it to Helblindi, who already knew the basics and was able to read the Celtivory books for children) Helblindi went to the room they had given the pink-eyed mirari. He knocked on the door and waited, holding tight the bag he carried in his arms and taking a deep breath when he was granted permission to enter.

“Hi” he greeted when he entered, seeing the mirari resting against the window frame, watching something in the distance “sorry for bothering you, I-“

“you’re the eldest prince, right? Loki’s older brother” Eki interrupted him without turning to look at the younger.

“y-yes, I am. I’m eight years older than him” Helblindi bit his lower lip nervously, glancing around the room “I came to thank you for what you’re doing with my brother. You make him happy in ways I could never” he admitted, not sure if he should leave the food he came with and flee now; he did feel a bit awkward standing there.

After a pause thought, Eki turned to him, and when their eyes locked he smiled, making Helblindi swallow “a wounded heart cannot hope to help another while its dying” Eki spoke softly and Helblindi blinked, confused.

“what?” he asked when his mind couldn’t process what the other had told him. Eki merely chuckled and left the window to sit at the table “and what is that you carry there, my prince?” he asked, smoothly changing the subject.

Helblindi glanced down at his bag the up at Eki “I um… I brought this to you to show my gratitude” he explained and Eki hummed “do bring it here then, and please close the door” the mirari said as he closed some strolls that were on the table to make some room for them.

Helblindi nodded and closed the door with his foot, carrying the bag to the table. Over the years Jotunheim had focused mostly in the food, and thanks to that nearly everyone had more than enough to eat, and they had even started to plant sweet fruits that grew inside the ice. Helblindi had gathered some of them, which now he presented to Eki over the table, making the mirari smile brightly and he himself too “I hope you like them” the prince said as the mirari took one to his lips, closing his eyes at the sweet taste of the rosy fruit.

Eki ate it whole, savoring the sweet taste in every chew. He sighed happily and opened his eyes, smiling at Helblindi “I adore them; I have not had these since I was around your age, maybe a bit older” he said, taking another of the rosy fruits “thank you for bringing me this small piece of memory, Helblindi” he smiled warmly at the prince who blushed under his gaze.

“I’ll leave you to enjoy them, then” he said with a small smile, doing a little bow in Eki’s direction before rushing out of the room, closing the door behind him and running all the way to his and Loki’s room. He told himself it was to cover the blush on his cheeks, though he didn’t want to find out why he was blushing in the first place. He sighed, panting lightly as he re-entered the room, closing the door behind him and going to flop down on the bed face first.

Loki looked up from where he sat at the table, moving his legs back and forth, which were too small to reach the ground, even if the chair and table were smaller to suit him “what’s wrong?” he asked, curious at his older brother’s odd behavior. Helblindi rolled on his back and sighed again, closing his eyes “nothing, I’m just tired”

Loki, whom had spent all his life with his brother, knew that wasn’t at all true; it was barely noon, soon they would bring them lunch, so it was impossible for his brother to be tired already, but he let it be.

Helblindi on the other hand, was replaying his conversation with Eki in his head. Gods, he felt like an idiot for just standing there with the bag, and why didn’t he remember to close the door earlier? He bet Eki thought he was just a kid for stuttering like that… he sighed and closed his eyes like the mirari had done when he ate the sweet fruits Helblindi had brought to him and the smile he had received afterwards. Realizing something, Helblindi opened his eyes and sat up on the bed, making Loki look at him and raise an eyebrow in confusion.

He realized now that Eki had called him by his name for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I'm sorry for taking so long to posting this one... it is unbetaed too, so any mistakes are mine and mine alone :'3 my beta simply hates me, I'm too demanding ^^'
> 
> jotun glssary:
> 
> zakur: jotun dog  
> unxi:jotun rabbit  
> mirari: literally translated it means miracle  
> Eki: sun  
> ama: bearer, mother  
> mutu:mute  
> Negu: winter  
> Naia: wish  
> Basoa: forest
> 
> if there are any foreign words I forgot to translate let me know!


	5. Empty spaces

It was not easy, the language of the Celtivory, but Loki still managed to surprise Eki by even mastering the language before his name day. Eki had told him that he would give him his surprise now for his hard work and Loki had felt more eager to see Asgard, he was so excited already to see the golden castle, the city and pink colored people… so when Eki’s magic wrapped around him and traveled through the realms, Loki’s hopes were somehow crushed when instead of the bright rainbow bridge under his feet, he found simple ground. He instantly frowned and looked up, gasping at all the bright colors around him; not golden, not red, but all of them mixed, and lots of green, and blue, and- “master-“ he gasped again, unable to believe his eyes.

“welcome to midgard, Loki” Eki smiled.

*******************************************************

Helblindi was worried. Of course he was worried, how could he not when his little brother was in another realm? But he was with Eki, he reminded himself, Eki wouldn’t let anything happen to Loki, and anyway it was midgard, full of mortals that died in less than two jotun years; they, on the opposite, were gods, immortals.

He sighed, rolling on the bed again until he almost fell over the edge with a yelp. He righted himself and sat up on the bed, bringing his knees to his chest and hugging them. He hid his face on his knees and breathed. Moments passed, he knew his brother must be somewhere in Earth, with Eki, exploring and learning everything the elder mirari would show him. He smiled at the idea, almost seeing Loki’s eyes grow wider with wonder, eager to touch everything, ask about everything, like a good little 5 year old jotun would. Well, Loki was technically still four, but it didn’t matter; it wasn’t as if age have ever mattered with Loki, the kid was all too aware of his surroundings for his own good.

And even if he was a toddler at the time, Helblindi knew his little brother would not forget the war, the hunger, Alaberg, the cries of pain, children screaming, jotuns crying; he himself couldn’t forget, he wasn’t even sure if he could forgive, he didn’t want to think of it right now.

One thing he was sure thought. Loki was all he had left, he was all Loki had, and they needed each other to stay sane. Where something to happen to Loki, Helblindi was sure that as soon as he was king he would freeze whoever dared to bring harm to his little brother and smash him to pieces. Yes. He didn’t notice the little drops of blood rolling down his legs from where his nails had pierced the skin.

Where Loki to die, Asgard would burn.

************************************************

“Master! Master! Look! It flies!” Loki said excited as the multicolored wings of the small body flew out of his reach once more. Eki chuckled and followed Loki, still blue just as him; as long as they stayed out of civilization they would be safe, they only had to wait for the transformation to begin.

“Master! I found another buttfly!”  Eki chuckled as Loki giggled, trying to catch the white ringed insect “it’s called butterfly “ he chuckled, but the little prince was too busy trying to catch it to hear him. Eki shook his head, but hurried to him when the little prince suddenly fell to the ground “be careful” he warned, checking Loki had not injuries.

Meanwhile Loki was staring wide eyed at the root coming out of the ground he had just tripped with “what is that?” he said, poking at it “what happened to this little tree?” he looked at Eki searching for answers. The eldest smiled, glad that Loki seemed not to have felt any pain at all “those are the roots of this tree; remember what you read about midgardian flora and fauna? While jotun trees form a ball under the ice to stay in place and collect all they need from their branches, midgardian trees have these branches underground to steady them and collect nutrients that they need” Eki explained

“and those are the leafs!” Loki said, pointing upwards “the little green things they need to make the photo… photosin…” struggling a bit to get the word out and Eki chuckled.

“Photosynthesis?” the elder mirari guesses and Loki nods with a smile.

After that they stay quiet for a while, Loki silently exploring on his own without getting too far from Eki and the later sitting on a rock, watching over the prince and feeling the vibrations of the realm, the natura around him, as if she were greeting him.

“master” but of course, peace never lasts “I’m hungry master” Loki sais with a guilty expression, as if he would have rather not interrupted his master’s meditation. Eki just smiled at him and stands from the rock, ruffling his hair.

“yes, its getting a bit late too” he sais and turns to follow the sound of a river nearby; its time to try his experiment. He glances back to make sure Loki is following him and within hearing range before he speaks “do you know why I brought you here, Loki?” he asks.

Loki looked up at his master’s back “to connect me with the natura?” he guessed and Eki chuckled; this little kid would never cease to surprise him.

“Exactly. That, and to see if you can shape shift as all miraries can” he answered, confusing Loki further, but the prince didn’t dare ask about it.

Soon enough they found a river and Eki stopped, waiting until Loki was next to him “you said you were hungry” the eldest mirari said with a smile, producing a single ice spear in his hand before he threw it in the water with amazing speed. When he collected it, there was a fish struggling  on it, the spear stabbed right through its slippery body. Loki stared at it wide eyed; midgardian fish were quite different from jotun fish. Definitely much smaller than he had expected. Eki brought it to him, placing the almost dead fish on his head “Miraries like us can shape shift at will, with just the power of our minds; we can become one with the natura, no matter the form it takes, we can blend in the colors, the people, the creatures, everything. But for a beginner like you, you will need a taste of the natura to do so” Eki smiled and Loki gulped; he knew what he meant, so hesitatingly he bit in the flesh that the already dead fish, tasting its meat, the water slipping from it, the fresh but strange taste of it.

“now focus, feel it like I taught you to, mold it to your body and don’t let go; if you want to come with me to Asgard when you’re older, you must pass this lesson” Eki said firmly, and Loki nodded.

He closed his eyes and let his body shift.

*********************************************************

12 years later, Eki told him he was ready to go to Asgard with him.

*********************************************************

It had been 15 years since the war came to an end, AKA 855 mortal years give or take. By then mortals had forgotten about it, the war, and most of then had forgotten the gods existed even. But Aesir had not forgotten and Jotnar haven’t either, so Loki and Eki had to enter disguised, calling the natura to them so their bodies would slowly take that pink color; Eki’s hair was the color of the purest gold he had even seen, while his eyes were of a light brown. Loki’s own hair remained black since he was still not able to shift it to a lighter color, but he managed to change his eyes green. He also had to perfect his skin pigmentation that it looked a bit pale by aesir standards, but Eki had deemed it good enough to not be noticed.

So that’s how they got in Asgard, disguised as aesir with only one purpose; read the bookof the Celtivory clan.

Going through the town was no problem; Eki even spent some money in the marked, buying strange looking fruits and some ink. Loki sighed, no matter if they were aesir or Jotnar, his master always seemed to blend in and connect with everyone as he were one happy child, it amazed him. It also made him wonder how in hell he had convinced Helblindi to let him company him but something told him he really didn’t want to know.

The castle thought, was another story entirely. They had to rely purely on the natura and their instincts to know a way to the vault without getting caught. It was obvious that Odin must had put the book in there, since he had made it clear he didn’t want any jotun to take it, that’s what the destroyer was for, but as Eki had put it, they weren’t there to take the book with them, but to read it; if they didn’t move it out of place and entered with only the purest of intentions, the destroyer would not detect their foreign presence. Still it made Loki nervous.

They were almost there when they heard heavy footsteps in the distance, and Eki quickly took Loki’s arm, pulling him back down the hall where they had seen guests rooms a bit farther down. They must have made some noise because the next thing Loki knew they were being followed and his heart was racing, trying to not panic enough to shape shift to his normal form

“stay in here” Eki whispered at him, pushing the prince inside a guest room before he took off, surely to distract the guards and let Loki enough time to sneak in the vault on his own and read at least the first chapter; it was a heavy book, so Eki had told him they would need to come more than once for him to read it completely. He sighed and pressed his forehead against the door, breathing in an out, hearing for footsteps fading, for any other sound.

A footstep behind him.

 “What are you doing here?” the prince of Asgard, Thor Odinson, stared at him with a frown.

Loki swallowed and slowly turned to face him. He was as good as dead if Thor ever found his identity “what are _you_ doing here?” he asked instead, giving his mind time to make up a lie.

Thor’s features hardened before looking down a bit guiltily “I’m hiding from my father; it seems that tricking Heimdall to send me wherever I please didn’t sit well with him” he chuckled, and Loki couldn’t believe he was not being executed or something for talking back like that to a _prince_ ; sure he was a prince too, but his identity had to remain a secret.

“but answer me, why did you come in here? Are you a servant? I don’t remember seeing you around here before” the prince said with a kind smile and Loki’s mind seemed to finally come with a believable lie.

“I am, this is my first day of work and I still don’t know my way around the castle, so I got lost” he said with a shy smile to make it more believable. Thor seemed to buy it.

“oh well, whatever you were asked to do, it surely is not around here; servants usually go around the higher chambers, not the ones so far from the center of the palace” he said smiling and Loki nodded, acting as if he was trying to memorize Thor’s words “I would walk you there” Loki froze but he masked it “but I can’t come out or I would get caught; the guards must be around, searching for me” Loki nodded, relieved that the guards must have thought they were the prince they were looking for and not some foreigners that shouldn’t be there.

“Thank you for your help” he bowed respectfully at Thor like a good servant and opened the door to leave.

“I hope we see each other again; perhaps then you can tell me the truth” Thor said before he closed the door and Loki tensed; had Thor know? Impossible, he was barely a toddler when the war had exploded between their realms, both of them, Thor couldn’t possibly know…

He shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside and rushing for the vault; as expected, Eki was already there.

“what took you so long?” the mirari questioned, but Loki only shook his head.

“where is the book?” he asked instead and Eki smiled, nodding at the small pillar that held a heavy book wrapped in leather, sewed with fine gold and interlaced braids and patterns so very characteristic of the Celtivory people, somehow different from the Aesir ones.

Loki stared in Awe, his mouth often until Eki gently pushed him towards it “come on, we don’t have much time” the eldest said in hushed tones and Loki nodded; now it wasn’t time to admire, he had to read, learn more about the natura and the only race of mortals that had come close to connect fully with it.

Carefully to not move the book out of place and wake the destroyer, he opened the book gently and began to read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long ¿-¿ I hope you forgive me some day, but you know how hard it is to keep up with school, even more when exams suddenly appear everywhere and surround you. Is horrible.  
> Anyway, have this chapter as a peace offering, if you find anyerrors please let me know since its un-betaed.
> 
> jotun glossary:
> 
> zakur: jotun dog  
> unxi:jotun rabbit  
> mirari: literally translated it means miracle  
> Eki: sun  
> ama: bearer, mother  
> mutu:mute  
> Negu: winter  
> Naia: wish  
> Basoa: forest
> 
> if there are any foreign words I forgot to translate let me know!


	6. The Catalyst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a year long hiatus, I'm back! I needed it after the shitty situation I was in, but fortunately for you everything is going as it should now, so Ill start updating soon~ sorry if this chapter looks a bit short, I wanted to have it out asap, and I promise more action in the next♡ also sorry for any grammar mistakes, feel free to point them out!

Eki took him to Asgard once a jotun year. The rest of it, he spent it practicing what he had read, often returning to midgard to better grasp the meaning of various terms, thought as time passed in middle Earth, more wars exploded here and there, making Helblindi worry even more each time he went.

His brother had often joined his studies, but had no interest at all in what Loki was studying, he asked him about his progress of course, but never what he was studying. When Loki pointed it out to him, Helblindi shrugged and told him that he had no right to study the magic meant for a mirari. It made Loki feel as if he was leaving his brother out, but it also made him feel special, to be able to read and know and do what few jotuns ever did “stop daydreaming” Eki told him once, when he found him a bit distracted during training “dreams are made to make them real, but don’t let them take you from reality” Loki had nodded, seeing the wisdom in Eki’s words, and trained long and hard for the next two years.

He did not see Thor again until he reached the third chapter on the third year he sneaked in Asgard with Eki.

They reached the vault, Loki eager to read this year’s chapter, return home and take plenty of notes of what he had read with Eki’s help before his eighteenth name day; he was sure Helblindi had something planned, taking advantage of his status as king.

Helblindi’s coronation had been two years prior, when he had become of age; people needed a ruler, someone to guide them and rise hope that not everything was lost. Helblindi had not had the opportunity to be taught by his father, but Thrym, as his uncle and advisor, helped him enough with his studies, quoting things Laufey had said, telling stories of his father’s merits, his fall, and to ease the tension, stories of when he and his brother were young and went to the taverns, which made Helblindi and Loki have a good laugh at their father’s and uncle’s ‘adventures’.

“pay attention Loki” Eki brought him back to reality as they walked in the shadows of the hall “I’ve heard Asgard is much more wary now, they might have a suspicion that someone is entering the vault” Loki nodded, not daring to say anything in case they were heard; they followed the same path they usually took thought, since the guards were still at their usual place. They reached the vault easily enough, walking silently to where the book was, and as usually Loki began to read while Eki sat on the floor, his eyes closed as he used his magic to check on their surroundings. Two hours later and a page and a half left, Eki opened his eyes and stood “guards, they are coming, but how…” he started to look around, but Loki was not foolish enough to waste time worrying; until Eki said definitely they had to go he had to keep reading, as much as he could; he was just ending the chapter of the sun, how it affected the life and what kind of magic stimulated. He needed to know, it was important for his shape shifting abilities to use the sun to warm his body and thus be able to maintain it during long periods of time.

“Loki”

Damn “only half a page Eki” he pleaded, reading as fast as he could “Loki now” Eki hissed, tugging at Loki’s arm. And then, Loki did the stupidest thing without thinking; he closed the book and took it from its place to follow Eki, who was already desperate to take him from there. They rushed to the door from where they came from and Loki could hear them too now, shouting at each other and rushing, they had not seen them yet but they would soon since they sounded pretty nearby now. Making a split-second decision, Eki turned and dragged Loki up the stairs that led directly to the throne room, hiding them in time; their aesir disguise fell and Eki focused instead on hiding them behind illusions; they could have shape shifted in birds or mice, but he didn’t trust Loki’s magic when he was this startled and nervous, it could end in disaster.

They came out of the throne room, hiding behind a pillar as a few guards rushed here and there, but thankfully it was empty beyond that. Eki took them through the curtains, and Loki realized there were private rooms here; taking into account where feasts were celebrated and how hidden these rooms were, it didn’t take a genius to know the real reason behind so much ‘privacy’. Why Eki was bringing him to one of these rooms, he didn’t know, but he soon found out when his master moved the carpet and a small trapdoor was revealed. They wasted no time in getting down it and Eki then pulled as a wire to place the carped over them in its original position “this is called the lover’s passage. Aesir use this so as to not be seen when they leave after a feast and some coupling” Loki blushed at Eki’s bold explanation and tightened his hand around his master’s, for now only interested in getting out. They kept the illusion up even when they came out on some of Asgard’s town, thankfully not so far from the secret path that had led them there.

No one in town seemed to know what was going on in the castle so no guards were out yet, and it made their escape easier, which Loki was thankful for. They dropped the illusion once they were almost there and Eki glanced back at him to check on him, Loki giving him a reassuring smile that he was indeed okay. They did not stop running until they reached the portal, and only once they were in Jotunheim and walked a good portion of the way back to the castle did they allow themselves to relax “Loki” Eki spoke next to him and Loki looked up at him “yes master?” he panted softly “I’m going to kill you” there was no real threat in Eki’s words, but it made Loki pause and realize, as if for the first time noticing the weight he carried in his arms, that he had the book. He looked down and there it was, the book they had so carefully sneaked in Asgard to read, making sure no one noticed it had been moved. He couldn’t believe it, and then, another thought hit him.

Why hadn’t the destroyer attacked them when he had taken the book from its place?

***********************************

Thor was fuming, full of rage and a desire to hurt whoever dared to cross him right now.

It wasn’t because of the book that had been stolen, he didn’t have any interest in midgardian magic of whatever his father had explained it was about. It was because someone had dared to steal from the vault that Thor was enraged, and even more so when he saw his father had no plan of doing anything anytime soon, he didn’t even look angry! Whereas Thor was fuming. His father was becoming weak and forgiving, so as heir of Asgard, Thor believed it was his duty to teach those dammed jotuns a lesson once and for all, because of course it had been the jotuns; out of all the things his father had said about the book, the only thing that mattered was that it was written by the mortals for the jotuns, to thank them for not destroying them or something. He didn't care, he only cared for revenge and soon.

That very night, in a corner of a barely lit pub, Thor leaned over the table to whisper with his friends, lady Sif and the warriors three.

"We are leaving at nightfall, he'll be more vulnerable when he's sleeping" Thor whispered, glancing around to make sure no one else was listening "are you even sure he exists?" He turned to Sif and nodded, but she was still looking doubtful "she's right, nobody ever mentioned a second prince" Fandral added, and Thor rolled his eyes at his distrustful friends; Volstagg seemed the only one to not stare at him as if he were doubting his habilities "I've checked their roots, there are two names directly bellow Laufey's. My own father said that he saw a royal baby the last day of war, when the crown heir was already born a few years prior, so it couldn't be him. Besides, a king can't leave it's Kingdom like that, and my father believes that it was someone of royal blood who took the book, that's why the destroyer didn't come out" Thor sat back with a satisfied smile. His friends now looked convinced rather than doubtful, except "what about escape routes?" Hogun crossed his arms, eyebrows raised "worry not Hogun" Thor grinned, already seeing himself coming home, victorious "we are not the ones who will need to escape"

**Author's Note:**

> Well, there you have the first chapter! this work was inspired after I saw this 24.media.tumblr.com/e794fc8c5bdb5a954b9d510eed6d9e13/tumblr_mt05h8Ljjs1riklxko1_1280.png beautiful pic of laufey and Loki by the amazing tothetwelve.tumblr.com *v* 
> 
> I know irs short since its kind of the prologue, but I will update asap so don't worry, there's moar for those who actually want this to continue! thankyou to my dearest babu for being my beta-reader :3
> 
> Feel free to leave me constructive criticism and your opinion without being rude please and thankyou!
> 
> jotun vocabulary:
> 
> zakur: jotun dog


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